For the other 11 months of the year, Kalibo is primarily known as an entry point to the famed holiday island of Boracay.

BBC: Ati-Atihan festivites on Philippine shores

In places like the Philippine island of Boracay, the transformation is well under way, so I head first to Bacuit Bay, to check out a diminishing rarity: a self-proclaimed tropical paradise that contains no go-kart tracks or daiquiri stands or much of anything but wild animals, water and sand.

WSJ: The Philippines's Strange Paradise